What coverage of Boko Haram tells us about western attitudes

Thursday 15 May 2014 16.00 EDT
First published on Thursday 15 May 2014 16.00 EDT

Stories about militant Islamic groups are perennially in the news (Nigerian forces were warned over kidnap, says Amnesty, 10 May). The names of such groups are revealing, but only if you can understand languages such as Hausa or Arabic. Wouldn't it help if the Guardian adopted a policy of adding a translation of a name on its first use in an article? So Boko Haram would be glossed as "western education is sinful"; Al-Shabaab as "the youth" or, more colloquially, "the lads". These names tell us so much about the values of these groups, but their meaning is lost if they are not translated.Jennifer CoatesEmeritus professor of English language and linguistics, University of Roehampton

• Of course Michelle Obama shouldn't be faulted for involving herself directly in the campaign to recover and return to safety the Nigerian schoolgirls. She might, however, wish to ask her husband how many schoolgirls, and others, have been killed or maimed as a direct result of his drone operations throughout his time in the White House? And how many more yet to come in the presidential years left to him? Collateral damage? Collateral for whom?Bruce Ross-SmithOxford

• Foreign intervention in Nigeria undermines the independent status of Africa's biggest nation and smacks of neocolonialism. It also serves as a convenient publicity stunt for nations with horrific human rights records.

The Boko Haram incident plays into the hands of nations that present themselves as champions of equal rights, but which are actually only filling the world up with more prejudice.

Meanwhile, our superheroes show little interest in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims from the Central African Republic and occupied Palestine. It is true that they were invited to assist in Nigeria. A fine publicity stunt, too, for a Christian leader embroiled in his own share of controversy. And did not the East Timorese, the Tutsi of Rwanda and those most unfortunate Palestinians, among countless others, not also call for international help? Quentin PoulsenIstanbul, Turkey

•Deborah Orr (10 May) asks why the UK media took so long to pick up on the story of the mass abduction of girls on 14 April and has failed to report the story of Boko Haram, in any shape, up to now. Well, maybe not the entire UK media. The BBC World Service made the story of the kidnap a lead within 24 hours. We have been reporting Boko Haram, prominently, for years.

I still recall when I first heard their name: listening to the radio in Jerusalem, back in 2008, when our peerless presenter Owen Bennett-Jones said – with amazement in his voice – that there was a militant Islamist outfit whose name means "western education is forbidden".

Consistently, over the years, we have filled in the picture of militant brutality, official incompetence and corruption, and regional tension. We draw on a network of brave and experienced reporters on the ground. We also have the name which means that leading figures in the country are willing to come on air and answer tough questions. For us, foreign news doesn't exist.Tim FranksBBC World Service